Beginning of a Legend
by GlowBlade998
Summary: The Dark Forces are winning, and it seems that all hope is lost...but when a young purple dragon and travelers from another world surface, there may be hope yet...if Cynder does not reach them first.
1. Prologue

**Beginning of a Legend**

**Summary: **The Dark Forces are winning, and it seems that all hope is lost...but when a young purple dragon and travelers from another world surface, there may be hope yet...if Cynder does not reach them first.

**Based in Spyro: A New Beginning**

**Starts in Monsuno episode Rising**

**Prologue**

Cynder paced about her lair, thunder rolling overhead. The first Guardian's power had almost been harnessed. Her Master would return from his long imprisonment, and seek revenge on those who wronged him. So soon...but so far.

The black she-dragon growled to herself. She hated to admit it, but she needed help, more than what the _stupid _apes could give her. She needed...another dragon. One easy to manipulate. Easy to influence...

Ever since she had received news from the head ape that the purple dragon had survived, her thoughts had become muddled with plans to remove the whelp from the equation. In her dreams, she saw visions of odd two legged creatures – _humans_ – and five stood out in particular. Five young ones, one with hair as dark as night, another that wore glasses, a female with fiery hair, and another with darker skin then the others. The last...the last she was interested in. The child had white hair, and seemed much more innocent and clueless than the others. Much easier to influence...

Suddenly, Cynder threw back her head and snarled. It was hopeless! The few creatures she needed didn't even exist in this world! She growled, lightning crackling through the sky. There had to be a way to bring them here...

She closed her eyes, and could feel a connection to their world. She could feel it through the creatures they carried...the essence that made their life...

The she-dragons eyes flew open. She raised herself on her front paws triumphantly, and an evil cackle echoed through the air and reverberated through the empty halls around her. That was it! She could create a portal through their monsters!

"Soon, master!" she cried. "You will soon be free!"

* * *

Chase felt as if he had already lost the battle before it had begun. Beside him, the rest of his team eyed their opponents warily. So many STORM soldiers lined the path, Charlemange and Trey standing intimidatingly at the front. Klipse and Hargrave, maybe less in number, but certainly much crazier and more powerful. He raised Lock's core – when it suddenly gave off a bright burst of violet light.

It was moments later when he realized the others had done the same thing. They began to pulse violently, and when the teal eyed teen looked around in panic, he realized that Charlemange's and Trey's were glowing as well, as with Klipse's and Hargrave's.

"What is this!" Klipse cried furiously, the glared at Chase. "_What are you doing Suno_?"

"He's not doing anything!" Jinja cried, looking worriedly at Charger's core. Suddenly, a great beam of light erupted from each core, encasing it's Controller. The fiery haired girl felt like pure flame was consuming her body. There were sudden cries and screams of pain from the others, and through the flames of violet, she could see Bren collapsing, while Dax seemed to want to join him. Charlemange had fallen to her knees along with Trey, and Klipse seemed to just bear it. But what scared her was Beyal's suddenly terrified expression, and his eyes suddenly flicking green.

After that, her world exploded.

* * *

Jeredy cried out as pain suddenly flared within him. Beside him, he could see that the mutated Jon could feel it too, and Jeredy felt fear rising in him as Jon's eyes began to glow violet. He and Jon collapsed, and violet began to encase them both. _Whatever this is_, Jeredy thought, _it can't be good_. Even in his own mind, he could hear an evil cackle as he felt himself being sucked from his own universe and into a much darker one.

* * *

For the first time in her life, Medea felt herself getting caught in the grip of terror. Poisonwing's Core began to glow a bright purple, as a beam of light encased her body, and she could tell the same thing had happened to her poor boys.

"Mistress!" Lat cried suddenly, and his honey coloured eyes were alive with panic. But he couldn't even finish his sentence. Telegonus yelled and Arg howled as they felt themselves being dragged out of their own universe, falling at the speed of light.

* * *

Cynder had never felt so jubilant. She watched from the top of her castle as fifteen bursts of chromatic light split their way over the world. More than she thought, but she felt that they were necessary. Her eyes focused on one beam in particular, falling towards a place called Tall Plains, where the Ice Guardian was having his power harnessed. With a few beats of her almighty wings, she lifted herself into the air.

It was time to collect her prizes.

* * *

**End Prologue**

**AN: So, tell me whatcha think XD This is probably my first serious story, and I screwed it a bit, so...chapter 1 will be up soon!  
**


	2. A New World

**Chapter One**

"Hey, hey! You! Are you alive?"

Chase groaned and batted away the annoying voice. All he felt was a painful throbbing in his head...

"Oh, what a nice way to thank someone who's trying to help you!"

"Sparx, don't you think you could be a teensy bit more polite?" There was a different voice now. Maybe he was hearing things...

"Polite? _Polite_?! He tried to smush me and you're telling _me _to be polite?!"

Chase lifted his head and squinted. All he could make out was a fuzzy purple shape and a glowing dot next to it. He waved a hand in front of his face to see if he were dreaming – when he realized he didn't have a hand. Chase sat up quickly and yelped, looking at his hands – or paws. They were a deep blue, and as he looked up his arm, he realized he was all blue and _scaled_.

"Excuse me?" Chase whipped his head around, now in full panic mode, to see a bright purple creature, with bright orange and yellow wings and gold looking horns. He gulped at the sharp looking blade on the end of his tail. "Are you okay?"

"O-okay..." Chase muttered, looking thoroughly freaked. "I..."

In all honesty, he wasn't at all! He'd been turned into some _thing_, and was talking to another one, with a glowy bug! How could he say he was okay?! And the others -

"The others!" he yelped, hopping up on all four legs, causing the the purple creature – he was pretty sure it was supposed to be a dragon – and bug to flinch. "Oh god, where's Bren and Jinja? And Dax and Beyal?" his eyes were wide now. "Oh god and Dad! And - "

"Whoa whoa, calm down buddy!" the bug clapped a tiny hand on his muzzle. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves."

"What happened?" the purple one of him asked gently. He looked only a bit younger than Chase himself, but a bit stumpier and had wider eyes. Chase went quiet and thought about the question.

"I – I don't know." he admitted quietly. "One minute I was with my friends, about to battle STORM and Klipse, and then out Cores started glowing and we got pulled here..." Chase trailed off when he realized the other two would have no idea what he was talking about. The bug shook his head.

"You sure you're feeling okay?" he said dryly. "You hit your head hard enough to leave a dent in the ground."

He was right. As Chase began to observe his surroundings, he noticed a rather large ditch in the ground – obviously where he landed. All around him was a bright but swampy place, and pale mushrooms with bright purple spots surrounded him. The ground was marshy, and a few drooping trees hung here and there. Well worn paths had olive green moss lining them, and the place looked like it belonged in a fantasy world in general. Chase shook his head. This was just too weird, even weirder than when Lock -

Chase froze again. Lock? Evo? What happened to his Monsuno's -

"Hey - " he heard the purple dragon exclaim, and Chase realized he had been hyperventilating. "Calm down a bit. Deep breaths, come on - " Chase began to breath deeply, wanting to break down. He was lost, no Monsuno's, his friends were someplace else and he was almost completely alone.

When Chase had calmed down enough, he looked at the purple dragon weakly. "Sorry, I – I just - "

"Hey, it's fine!" the bug said, holding up his arms. "The amazing Sparx does seem intimidating at first - "

The purple dragon rolled his eyes and swatted at the bug with his tail. "Ignore him," he laughed. "He's a pin head. I'm Spyro."

"Chase," the teal eyes teen-turned-dragon muttered, dazed. None of this felt quite real.

"Nice to meet you." Spyro said cheerfully, then turned to Sparx. "Go be useful and find us some water, oh amazing lantern." he told the bug, which, now that Chase looked closely, was a dragonfly.

"Kids these days," Sparx muttered, and flew off in search of water. Spyro nudged at him and ran after the dragonfly, beckoning for Chase to follow. The teal eyed dragon stumbled after him, not used to having four legs and a tail, and tripped over his heels quite a few times. Spyro was incredibly friendly, and seemed to enjoy having 'someone like him' with him.

"Someone like me?" Chase panted, covered in dirt from all the times he had tripped over his own tail. This was definitely going to take some time to get used to...

"Someone who had wings and scales like me...even though your wings have feathers," Spyro explained, flapping his wings. Chase's eyes widened slightly and he twisted his head to look at his wings. The purple dragon was right...he had _wings_...

"Oh _fattiiie_!" Sparx sang, buzzing in front of Spyro's face. "I found some of that water you wanted!" He motioned towards a small, murky pond. Spyro rolled his eyes and tried to explain to Sparx what clean water was, but Chase slowly crept towards the pond and glanced at his reflection.

It was extremely hard to see, but after a few moments he began to finally see what he looked like. He still had hair, although it was placed oddly, and a pair of sweeping white horns rose from his head, seemingly looking two layered halfway up. He was a deep blue all over – the colour of his jacket, he realized. He even had his jackets design as markings, white against the blue. His chest and stomach plates were white as well, and a pair of white and blue feathered wings rose above his head as he stretched them. Unlike Spyro, however, he had no blade on the end of his tail. He still had his necklace though, and it glinted in the sunlight, reminder of the life he had been pulled from.

Chase looked down at his necklace – a gift from his father. His father was somewhere here, Chase thought suddenly. And his friends. The teal eyed dragon looked into the murky pond and nodded firmly.

"Hey Spyro." he said suddenly, and the purple dragon turned to face him inquiringly, leaving Sparx to argue with himself. "Where did you say you were going again?"

* * *

Jinja groaned, confused. Why was she in so much pain? She cracked open an eye and blinked a few times, then tried to sit up.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." came a quiet, wise voice above her. Jinja's eyes flew open fully and she yelped. "Calm yourself, young one." came the voice again, then she realized it was coming from a large, red and scaled being. The girl gulped and looked up slowly, first seeing clawed paws, then great giant wings, then an old but wise and friendly face.

"You have suffered a great ordeal," he said quietly. "Being pulled from ones original dimension leaves you feeling rather dazed and disoriented."

"I – I guess...but..." her throat was dry. The red dragon looking creature nodded towards a shallow pool. It was only then she noticed that she was in a cave. It was well lit with strange shaped fungus that was glowing on the ceiling and along the ground. She dragged herself over to the pool and was about to dip a hand in when she caught her reflection and shrieked.

Her human face was gone, and she was staring at a creature very much like the one behind her, although she was much smaller. Her ginger hair fell down her back like a horses mane, and she was light blue all over. Dark ebony horns rose from her head, a prong sticking out on each one so that she looked like a young deer. She could just see her over-shirts marks on her shoulders and on her front legs. Trembling, she lifted a leathery thing from her side, and gasped at the large wing that extended. Swishing her tail, she saw two dangerous looking spikes protruding from either side.

"What happened to me," she whispered, touching the water. Her reflection rippled before clearing, and now the red dragon was behind her, looking forlorn.

"When you appeared in this world," he said. "You're body went through a metamorphosis, changing it to better suit your environment."

Jinja gulped, then turned to the dragon. "How did you know I'm wasn't from here?" she asked, still confused and desperately scared. The red dragon sighed wearily and settled himself down on the ground. Jinja followed suit, legs shaking as she tried to find a way to position them.

"Something like this had happened before," he murmured, looking to the entrance of the cave at the light filtering through. "Long ago, when I was still young," Jinja couldn't help but think that it must've been a really long time ago, maybe about a hundred years, but kept quiet. "A woman was thrown into this world by the Dark Master. She," the older dragon breathed in painfully. "She suffered much, for she would fight against the Dark Master bitterly, trying to find a way home to her family." he rested his head on his paws, and Jinja felt rather bad for this poor woman. "We tried to protect her egg when the Dark Master attacked the Temple...but we were overthrown."

Jinja looked at him, eyes wide. "Temple?" she said faintly. The red dragon smiled.

"I believe it is story time, young one," he said, raising his head to look her in the eyes. "But before we begin, let me introduce myself. I am Ignitus."

* * *

"Ooow..." Bren muttered. The first thing the geek noticed was that his head was _pounding_, as was every other inch of his body. The second thing he noticed – it was _really _cold. He shivered and huddled into himself. It was only after a few freezing minutes that he realized he didn't have skin, or his limbs weren't in the proper place. His eyes flew open, and he hardly noticed that he didn't even have glasses. All he realized was that we wasn't human anymore.

"Aw krag!" he complained, staring at a scaled paw in dismay. "What happened this time?" He tried to stand when his vision blurred, and he immediately fell back on his hind legs. Yep, guess he wouldn't be moving for a while. He shivered and looked about the desolate place.

It seemed like an old war ground. Remains of barbed wire fences stuck dangerously from the ground, and large concrete walls rose around him. Everywhere around him was covered snow and ice, and he could see a few rotted wooden doors in the concrete wall that led somewhere in the arctic expanse.

The geek tried to shift himself up when he heard a groan from somewhere near him. He froze in panic and fear as he saw something yellow stir in the snow. Very slowly padding over, he looked down fearfully and gasped.

It was another creature like him, male as well, and he could see blonde hair. The creatures eyes began to flicker open to reveal honey brown eyes, and Bren's heart sank as he realized who it was.

"_Lat_?" he cried, and the dragon like creature sat up. Lat immediately began to panic.

"Mistress!" he shrieked, then saw Bren. "_You!_" he yelled, and tried to leap on him. He hardly got a centimeter before he fell to the ground.

Bren couldn't help but snicker slightly. "In case you haven't realized," he said dryly. "We aren't human." he did feel bad for laughing, though, when he saw how scared and confused the blonde looked. The geek felt the exact same way about the situation.

"W-what - " Lat stammered, shaking. "How – where - "

"Yeah," Bren muttered. "I'm asking the exact same thing." the two stared at each other for a while, not knowing what to say. It began to snow, and Bren could feel the chill right to his very core. For some reason, his instincts told him that the snow storm ahead was going to be a heavy one.

Lat seemed to realize this too. "We better find shelter," he muttered, and heaved himself up. He tried to brush past Bren coolly, but managed to trip over his own tail and landed face first in the snow. Bren rolled his eyes.

"Ten steps ahead of you." the geek said, heading towards a door, and, without even knowing what he was doing, swung his head upwards. His horns hit the door and it shattered, showing a small but warm room. Lat stared at him in shock, and Bren felt a little surprised too.

This was going to take a little getting used to...

* * *

When Dax woke up, it was to a boiling heat all around him. The Lowlander was used to heat, mind, but not anything like this. Panting, he sat up wearily and winced. He tried to stretch, but as soon as he did he realized that one – he was stretching six limbs and two – they definitely weren't in the right place.

The Lowlanders eyes widened as he looked down at maroon paws, with sharp looking claws sticking from them. Craning his now rather long neck to look at his back, he saw the extra two limbs he was stretching – a pair of cameo patterned wings. His breath quickened. He was pretty sure this wasn't normal.

Dax looked around to see if he could see anyone, but all he saw was his own landing patch – very close to a black looking ocean. There were lava puddles everywhere, and heavy metal machinery seemed to be powered and moving without anyone at the controls. The machinery itself looked like something he'd never seen – giant scythes slamming down onto the hard earth. Carts of twisted metal sat everywhere, and the sky above was a deep, smog like purple. It was then Dax realized that the island he was on itself was a giant volcano.

The Lowlander hesitantly got to his feet, feeling very wobbly on all fours. He had no clue where he was, nor his Monsuno's or friends. "Lil Suno?" he called uncertainly. "Princess? Glasses?" his voice got more panicked. "Monkfish? _Anyone?"_

No reply, although the Lowlander didn't expect one. He was seemingly all alone on a overly polluted island.

"Who iz there?" a strong, throaty voice yelled. He almost thought it was Charlemange, until he whirled around and saw a small creature staring at him. It had thick glasses and a long, twirly mustache, and looked like a cross between a mole and a rat.

"Um..." Dax said eloquently, shifting awkwardly.

"You don't caree ze stanch of Cynder's minions..." he said suspiciously, and Dax blinked.

"Cynder?" he asked, curious. "Who the heck is Cynder?"

The mole stared at him. "You dan't know Cynder?" it exclaimed. "Ze fiercest, most vicious dra-gon to ever exizt?"

"Um, no." now something was really wrong here. The mole shook his head, surprised, then considered him carefully.

"I am Mole-Yair, one of ze last free mem-bers of my people." he said proudly, then saddened. "But ah am not much of a lea-der anymore." Dax couldn't help but feel bad for the little guy, even though he could hardly understand his thick, French sounding accent. "I shall take you to zeh only zafe refuge left – for us Manweersmall, at least."

As Dax followed the first sign of life he'd seen on this desolate place, he couldn't help but think whoever named these creatures had the right idea.

* * *

Beyal twitched. He was in so much pain! His whole body felt like it was on fire still, even though he could feel tall grass around him, and a cool breeze pass over him. He shivered and opened his eyes. His vision blurred slightly before clearing. He could see a blue sky above him, and the grass below him was lush and green. Lifting his head up weakly, he could see to his right archways made of stone squares, each with elaborate tribal carvings. To his left however – the monk gasped and tried to stand, but found himself falling over.

Dragging himself to the edge, he looked down – to see cloud. Beyal stared with wide eyes. He was on a floating island – or at least, a very tall island. Throwing himself away from the edge, it was then he realized why he hadn't been able to stand properly before. Where once his hands and arms were, now were reptilian paws, red and gold claws glinting in the light. The scales traveling up his arm – or, a new leg, he should say, were small, pale scales. He trembled.

"Child," he heard behind him, and whirled around, terrified. A large black dragon stared down at him, with scarred red wings. Her eyes were emerald green, and were gazing at him, friendly. Beyal thought that there was something off about this scene, but his relief at seeing life had outweighed his previous terror.

"Are you alright, young one," the dragon said softly, lightly touching her muzzle to his. He missed the spark of cunning in her eyes.

"I...I..." he trailed off. For once, the monk was at a loss for words. He had been seemingly thrown out of his world, and he couldn't find the rest of his tribe anywhere. He shook and threw himself at the black dragon. He could feel her stiffen for a moment, before relaxing and nuzzling him.

"It's okay child," she whispered, and the words seemed to echo in his mind sinisterly. "You can trust me," she continued. "After all...who else have you got to trust?"

Beyal took in these words as they repeated in his head, and he found himself speaking them out loud. She smiled at him, and he smiled back, despite the fact that all senses were screaming at him to run.

"What's your name, young one?" she asked warmly.

"I...I am Beyal," he whispered. She nodded.

"Such a fine name for a fine young dragon." she cooed. The monk heated up slightly. "But where are my manners?" she admonished herself. "My name...is Cynder."

* * *

**Don't forget to review!**

**Are there any ships you guys wanna see? I know Charlemange/Jeredy is a given, and I might ship Bren and Lat XD Tell me what you think so far!**


	3. Ignitus

**Beginning of a Legend**

**Chapter 2**

"Jeredy. Jeredy, open your eyes!" the scientist heard an urgent voice above him. "_Get up_!"

"Jon..." he mumbled wearily, then sat upright. "Jon!" he cried, and faced the voice. His eyes widened. "What the..."

"Yeah," Jon said grimly through a reptilian mouth. "Look at yourself before you say anything about me.

The scientist frowned and looked at his arms...or lack thereof. Where his arms and feet had been, were now sharp claws, and if he crossed his eyes, he could see a long, square muzzle.

"What _happened_...?" he said in wonder, staring at Jon in shock. Then he paused. "You're no longer mutated - "

"I'm no longer human either," the pale blonde male said gruffly, and winced. "Neither of us are."

Jeredy just couldn't make sense of it, and tried to remember what happened before. He remembered a blinding pain, and a dark cry of triumph in his head, then a strange sensation of falling...

He looked behind him and winced at two giant gorges in the ground, and realized they had just missed two giant lava puddles. It was only now he saw his surroundings that he realized the gravity of their situation. The deep purple sky and fiery surroundings proved them to be on a volcano. The ground below they rocked violently, and Jeredy and Jon both yelped as they tumbled over. The lava spurted from the craters and both dragons huddled in closer.

"We have to get away from here." Jeredy said seriously. Jon stared at him thoughtfully.

"What about the others?" he said finally. Jeredy froze and stared at him fearfully.

"Others?" he whispered, and dread woke in his mind. "You mean Chase and...?" he didn't need to finish the end of his sentence.

"I remember that there were quite a few of us," Jon rumbled, shaking his head. His stumpy horns glinted in the orange light. "We all split up...and then I blacked out."

Jeredy exhaled sharply. This changed many things. "We have to find out who else landed here." he said seriously. He felt the vibrations of the volcano from underneath him. "Before this place explodes."

* * *

Chase followed the purple dragon along the track, stopping briefly to take out a few frogweed or even apes as they appeared. This had Chase extremely weirded out, but he learned that very little in this world made sense. He also learnt what they were doing and where they were going now. Apparently Spyro had grown up in a community of dragonflies for as long as he had remembered, until not too long ago, when he was told that he had come from somewhere far away. He had only realized he was different when he had breathed fire, which Chase couldn't take seriously.

"And you never noticed you were ten times larger and purple?" he said incredulously. Spyro shrugged, slightly embarrassed.

"I always knew he was a bit different," Sparx said smugly.

"No you didn't," Spyro said. "You just though I had weight issues."

"You do!" the dragonfly cried, buzzing in front of the dragons face. "Look at that pudge, you could feed a small town for months!"

Spyro swatted Sparx away and rolled his eyes. Chase couldn't help but chuckle. The relationship between Spyro and Sparx reminded him a bit of the relationship between himself and Bren. So oddly matched, but the most compatible brothers the world had never seen.

The trio came to a small clearing when they heard it. A sudden, monstrous roar filled the air, and the three shrieked. Looking up, a large black shadow swooped overhead, wings large and spiked, and they could just see dangerous, sharp horns curving from it's head. Chase bolted blindly, and he saw Spyro do the same.

"_AHHHHHHHH_!" Sparx screamed. "Breathe, Sparx old boy, go to you your happy place!"

The three sprinted to the front of a cave, where they sat, panting, hearts pounding in fear. Chase turned to the two.

"What in the world was _that_?" he cried, eyes widening for a moment. Sparx gave a hysterical laugh.

"I have no idea, but I'm going this way, far from it!" he said, pointing into the cave. Spyro nodded seriously, and they all began to run again. They kept running for what seemed like eternity, Sparx buzzing along with them, until they all collided with a big red thing.

Chase pulled back and looked up – and froze.

"Whoa. And I thought you were a big one!" Sparx muttered slack jawed to Spyro, who looked almost as stunned as him, although not nearly as stunned as the great red dragon in front of them.

"You're - " the dragon gulped. "You're alive." but then he drooped his head. "But it's too late. Too late..."

"Too late for what?" Spyro asked suddenly, and Chase stared at him. "Who are you? Do you know me? Where do I come from?" and the questions just kept on coming." What are you?... What are we?... WHAT AM I?!"

"You mean, you don't know?" the dragon looked at him surprised. Chase finally found his voice.

"Does it _sound_ like he knows?" the blue dragon said dryly, not believing the stupidity of the question.

"You're a dragon." the red dragon said simply. "When you were just an egg, it was my job to protect you... it was my job to protect all of you." he finished his sentence gravely.

"There are others?" Spyro echoed, looking confused.

"Others?" the red dragon looked at them all. "There were." he whispered. "It was the Year of the Dragon, after all, and our very survival depended on those eggs...but the Temple and Grotto are now gone... overrun by..."

"Temple? What Temple?" Spyro asked urgently. Chase had never heard so many questions leave the purple dragons mouth. "Can you take me? Can I see it? Where I came from, I mean?"

"No, no," the red dragon muttered distractedly. "Who knows what forces occupy the Temple now. What state it's in. You don't understand. After they came for you..."

"They?" Chase asked fearfully. "Who is 'they'?"

"And why did they come for me?" Spyro added.

"Because the prophecies spoke of a Purple Dragon, a dragon born only once every ten generations." the red dragon finally cracked a smile at Spyro. "You."

"_You_..." Sparx muttered, mimicking the larger dragons voice, then looked at Spyro with an amused expression."Does that mean him?" Sparx began to laugh, and Spyro glared at him. Chase felt slightly amused as well. Spyro? A special once in a blue moon dragon? It seemed laughable. He was just too friendly and naive. " Wait, this guy? Spyro some special once in a purple thing? Ha ha, I think you might have mixed that one up." Sparx held his tiny gut as he tried to stop laughing. "Wooo, that's a little... bit of a stretch. I 've heard some, ah, doozies in my day, but that takes the cake."

"Spyro is it?" the dragon mused. "Well, Spyro, I assure you that I'm telling you the truth. The Dark Armies attacked, intent on destroying the eggs and killing the rest of us. They nearly succeeded... and then they lay siege to the other islands." he said solemnly, and a look of pain entered his eyes as he stared them in the eyes. "We were at war."

Chase could see memories of the war in the dragons wizened eyes, and almost felt he was there himself. "For many years we fought all over the islands. Brutal clashes with the armies of the Dark Master, who was intent on preventing the prophecies from coming true. The other three Guardians and I led our small but valiant forces into battle after battle against our ruthless, mercenary foe. Then, when we were beginning to turn the tide..." The whole dragons body shuddered. "Cynder came."

"Cynder?" Spyro asked fearfully. The red dragon nodded.

"Yes, Cynder." he said gravely. "Cynder was... is... monstrous, horrific, ferocious, a black dragon that fills the skies with terror, an unstoppable force of nature..."

"Ah, yeah, you had me at ferocious." Sparx shivered and turned to the dragons beside him. "Listen, sounds like that thing that was chasing us!"

"Yes," the older dragon in front of them murmured. "She still searches for me... and years ago I watched as Cynder plucked the other Guardians from the fields of battle...like so many ripe grapes from a vine..." Chase couldn't help but think this guy had been reading too much poetry in his isolation. "Without them, our cause is lost. Only I, Ignitus, managed to escape."

For a moment, the trio could see a light shine in Ignitus's eyes, before it was replaced by misery. "Not that it matters. Cynder now rules all... and I sit here wondering what might have been. What else I might have done..."

There was silence for a few moments, before Sparx's voice broke it. "Wow... sounds... fun. I wanna hang out with this guy." Chase nodded.

"Yeah, why have you given up?" he said, staring at Ignitus.

"I just find out that I'm this special dragon, and you tell me all is lost?" Spyro cried. "That I have no home or family left? I've come way too far to give up now. I wanna see where I come from." he said firmly, and Chase admired his courage.

Sparx obviously didn't. "Hold up, savior boy, were you not listening to this guy?" he asked incredulously. "He's talking about flying dragons, and war, and horrible... this is bad stuff, alright? I don't know if we're hearing the same thing..." he trailed off as he realized Spyro wasn't listening.

"Yes, Spyro, it's not as simple as that." Ignitus agreed, shaking his great red head."It's true, the prophecies spoke of a purple dragon destined to put his stamp on this age, but the prophecies didn't foretell the devastation that surrounds us now."

"Maybe you're right, but I'm willing to try. I want to take the first step." Spyro said determinedly. Chase nodded, and they both held their ground.

"You're actually going to go along with this lunatic?" Sparx said, waving his hands around. Chase growled at him.

"He hangs around you, doesn't he?" the blue dragon said sarcastically, but Ignitus was looking at Spyro, a glint in his brown eyes.

"Very well then. We'll go. You deserve to see your beginning...before it all ends." Ignitus said wearily. "I shall alert Jinja - "

"Jinja?" Chase cried suddenly, very alert. His cyan eyes were hopeful. "Jinja's here?"

Spyro and Sparx looked at him as if he were insane, but Ignitus smiled. "You are Chase then, I see." he rumbled, chuckling. Chase nodded frantically, and he and Spyro began to follow Ignitus deeper into the cave. Only Sparx stayed back.

"Am I the only one sane here? He's telling us we're doomed alright?" he cried desperately. "That's when I go, ah, maybe we should go back to the forest with the flowers and the fun stuff..."

But nobody was listening. Sparx had no choice but to sigh and follow.

* * *

Charlemange growled and covered her head. Why was she so cold, and why did her body burn so much? The blonde lay there, unmoving. Not too far away, she could hear voices getting closer, but she didn't move. She was in too much pain, and -

"Is that _Charlemange_?" she heard a voice exclaim, and her eyes flew open. Standing above her were the most bizarre looking creatures she'd ever seen. One was a light mint green, and two grey, slightly misshapen horns stuck out of a messy brown mop of hair. Leathery wings were folder, but she could see at the tips there were three fingers on each wing. An average sized tail ended in a sharp glinting spade.

The other was a honey yellow, and blonde, slicked back hair sat on his head, where two sweeping ebony horns sat. His tail ended in an odd, one sided rattle, and he had white speckles here and there. What was really odd was when he opened his mouth to answer, she saw his tongue was _white_.

"Blonde. Whip tail. STORM symbol on shoulder. Nah, couldn't be Charlemange." he answered the other sarcastically. The two seemed so familiar...it was only when she took a second glance at the first one that she realized it was one of the rogue controllers.

She flew upright, startling the two, and she growled at them, about to reach for Driftblade -

Her eyes widened as she realized the Monsuno wasn't there. She didn't even have a jacket. The two smirked at her as she began to realize something. She wasn't human.

"Vhat - !" she flipped onto all fours and walked around in a quick circle. She was white all over, but she could see a few yellow stripes on her back legs and front. Wings were tucked neatly at her side, looking rather long but slim. Her tail was rather long and thin, and ended in coarse fur. She blinked and sat on her hind legs. She felt eyes on her and whirled to face the two, glaring. The blonde one looked away, but the rogue controller stared.

"Vhat?" she growled. "Vhy are you staring?"

"Um...were you always that short?" he said in a small voice, but she could tell he wanted to laugh. She flushed and whipped her tail at him. He just dodged with a panicked yelp and the male dragon next to him began to laugh,

"What?" he asked when they both stared. "It was funny."

"It von't be funny vhen I'm strangling you..." Charlemange threatened, fuming. She was stuck as a bizarre creature with two people she really didn't like, she had no clue what happened to her Monsuno's and she was _frozen_. She shivered and looked around. Barren, arctic wasteland. Great.

"Hey," someone called softly, and she saw the rogue controller wave a paw in her face. "We have a hideout," he said, shrugging as she turned to him. "You can come with us."

"I don't need any help from you!" she snapped. The dragon shrank back, and the the other beside him glared slightly,

"Freeze then," he said coolly. "But I hope you remember that you're stuck here, with no place to go, and no other person to help you when you get frozen alive." He turned around and walked away, tail swishing and rattling. The rogue controller glanced at her, before following. Charlemange stared after them, hesitating. They were right. She had nowhere to go, and the wind was picking up...

"Ugh," she groaned. "Vait!" she called, and stumbled after them.

* * *

Trey looked around, confused. He'd just woken up to find himself surrounded by what looked like apes, who were screaming and jumping around him. Some were carrying hammers, some small axes, and the large ones had sticks of dynamite. He couldn't remember what had happened, except for the fact that he had just been pulled from his world and into another, and he was all alone with no Monsuno's and seemingly transformed into a reptile with wings.

"Another one!" the largest ape cried. "You guys just keep appearing, dontcha?" it cackled. "Remember Cynder's orders! Don't kill them..." the ape had an odd gleam in his eye. "She never said we couldn't break them in a little."

He wasn't sure what happened after that. All he knew was that they started advancing and he started panicking.

"Stay back!" he barked, but they laughed. He opened his mouth yet again, but when he did, he felt an odd power surge through him, and he shivered as instincts took over. He spat green globs at them, and they suddenly began to melt before his eyes, before they exploded into...into gems? As soon as he touched them they glowed and he absorbed them, and it made him feel much more powerful. The apes didn't seem to get the message, though. They just flew at him, and he just kept spitting poison at them and slashing now and again, until all but the large ape was left. It panicked and ran, but Trey didn't even bother to follow.

The commander collapsed onto his stomach and he could safely admit that, for the first time in his life, he was terrified out of his wits. He had just destroyed apes with spit, they burst gems that made you feel a heck of a lot better, and he wasn't human anymore. He was alone.

Almost.

"Who are you?" he heard a voice bark, and Trye was up immediately. From the bushes emerged a creature very much like him. He – he thought it was male – was dark grey, much like himself, although he seemed to have brown hair instead, and a black hoodie. He recognized him immediately to be a member of Darkspin. The dragon stopped and considered him, and his blue eyes widened.

"Trey." he growled, although not unfriendly. Trey nodded slowly, trying to remember the guys name.

"Telegonus." he said finally. Telegonus nodded slowly, and the two dragons considered each other.

"What happened." Tel muttered, shaking his head. Trey shrugged.

"We were kidnapped from our own world!" he growled. "And apparently there are orders not to kill us...but I'm not sure why."

"You say that as if it's bad," the dragon snorted. "I'd prefer not to be killed on sight."

"Not bad...just strange. But I know one thing." he added, eyes grim. "We have to find the others who came with us."

* * *

Cynder smirked slightly. The white haired child – Beyal – trotted along side her, oblivious to the fact that he was being lied to. The she dragon couldn't believe how easy it had been! The child was wrapped right around her claws – and only with a few words of kindness! He was very easy to manipulate, if you showed him that what he was doing was good. It almost made her feel bad – the child was incredibly sweet, and surprisingly wise for his age. Extremely agile, though, and fast. Very powerful if he wanted to be, as well. Cynder believed he could be a fine warrior, maybe even an assassin.

"Now child," she said, putting on her kind voice again. The young dragon raised expectant grey eyes to her green ones. The time had come to take him completely. "Remember what I said. If you see a purple dragon, befriend him. Find out everything you can...and report it back to me."

"I shall!" he answered obediently. "But...how will I...?"

"Contact me?" Cynder asked, and a true note of amusement entered her voice. "With this." she dug around in the bushes for something she had hidden. Pulling her head back, she revealed a choker that was very similar to hers, and dropped it in front of him. A mark similar to the marking on her own forehead rested in the middle, and although it was in full sunlight, it barely shone at all. "It will create a bond with me, so long as you are wearing it. Just dip a claw in water," she demonstrated with a small puddle next to her."with the intent to contact me and a connection will be made. You can talk to me through that."

Beyal nodded slowly, and Cynder pulled at it. It opened, bending at the hinges, and she placed it on his neck. With a smirk, she heard it close with a satisfying click, and the monk gasped slightly as his eyes glowed green for a moment. It was done, she thought gleefully. He was under her complete control...completely loyal to her and her only.

He looked up at her, wide eyed. She smiled at him, and for the first time, it was a true smile. "You have so much untapped potential, child." she whispered. "Together, you and I can help our Master rule, and reshape this world."


	4. The First Step

Beginning of a Legend

~  
Chapter 3

Dax couldn't believe the population of these guys! There were vast arrays of Manweersmalls, all in varying shapes and personalities. At first they regarded him warily, and he could tell they didn't trust him. Mole-Yair assured him that they would in time. In the meantime, he helped the small mole like creature free the rest of his kind.

It was then he discovered that he could control an element.

"Hey!" he heard a gruff voice yell, and the Lowlander whirled around to come face to face with...an ape.

Dax stared at him in disbelief. "Damn, you're ugly!" he exclaimed, and then shut his mouth immediately as it growled at him.

"You're lucky Cynder needs you alive," it snarled. "Or I'd put your head on a pike for that one!"

Dax shivered and his eyes widened as he heard Cynder's name yet again. It seemed like taboo among the Manweersmall's. Her name was muttered in a fearful hush, and dark tales of the horror she had committed made even the Lowlander fear her.

"Why would she need me alive?" he snapped, crouching into an attacking stance and baring his teeth. He still wasn't used to his dragon body, but he was getting the hang of it. It was easier to walk on all fours, and he discovered he had a real gift with the very few plants that grew around the volcanic island. They just seemed to go wild when he was around.

The ape in front of him chuckled darkly. "Who do you think brought you here?" he cackled, and then raised his axe up, to swing at the Lowlander. Dax's eyes widened in panic, but he couldn't move fast enough. His mind went, oddly, to the odd assortment of plants lining the walls, and he pleaded to them to help him, although it was probably no use. Sickly vines suddenly lurched, and the Lowlanders eyes widened further as they wrapped around the axe and swung it backwards, carrying the ape with it. The ape gave a sudden cry as it was flung over the edge, and as Dax crept forward to see what happened, he winced as he realized it had fallen right into a pool of lava.

Things like the ape didn't die, not exactly. Just burst into life-giving crystals – red, which replenished his already high health, blue, which made him more...powerful, purple, which seemed to fuel an odd power within him, and the green...which seemed to replenish the small amount of energy he had just lost. Dax could still feel the adrenaline in him, and could feel the life of the vines next to him, just waiting for him to give an order. Dax sighed.

Things were getting weirder. But the weirdest thing of all was the ape's response to his question...why did Cynder bring him and the others here? And what did they want with them?

~

"Jinja!"

When Jinja first heard her name being called, she thought she'd been hearing things. She froze and turned around. It couldn't be...

"Chase?" she said in disbelief, and she was suddenly bowled over by a blue blur. "Chase, you great lump!" she yelled, but she was laughing. "Get off me!"

Chase barely heard her. He just hugged her, rather awkwardly considering his arms were now front legs, but he managed. He couldn't stop talking, and she barely heard a word he said.

"You're okay!" he managed finally. She laughed, but stared as well. Chase looked rather weird as a dragon. His bright blue form and green eyes contrasted oddly, but the thing that shocked her most was -

"Your wings have feathers." she said slowly. Chase nodded and shrugged, falling back on his hind legs and wrapping his tail around his front. She noticed he didn't have any sort of blade, unlike hers.

"Yeah, I guess." he said, and then heard a chuckle from behind them. Ignitus was smiling at the two reunited friends, while Spyro and Sparx were just staring outright. Jinja looked over to Sparx, and then her gaze finally rested on Spyro. Jinja's eyes widened comically. She remembered her long conversations with Ignitus, about the war and prophecies, and her disbelief on seeing the purple dragon stunned her into muteness.

"Uh...I guess you haven't met these two then..." Chase muttered, looking at the two sheepishly. "Jinja, this is Sparx - "

"The almighty Sparx." the golden dragonfly added, huffing.

Spyro rolled his eyes. "And I'm Spyro," he said in a friendly manner. Jinja gaped for a few moments.

"Nice to meet you," she said eventually, looking dazed. "Ignitus, isn't he - ?"

"Yes, he is." the elder dragon sighed wearily, then turned to Spyro. "But come now, the Temple awaits us." Spyro nodded eagerly and trotted forward happily. Jinja's eyes widened.  
"You mean – we actually get to go?" she cried, looking hopeful. Ignitus sighed again.

"I believe Spyro deserves to see his beginning. It's only right." he said quietly. It remained silent as the group began to follow Ignitus through the winding caves, each as dark and mysterious as the other. It was only as she began to look closely that Jinja saw that the walls of the cave were becoming more detailed, ancient carvings and symbols etched into the walls, at soon they were entering an antechamber. There was a large red door on the other side of them, old and weathered, a glowing orange orb plated into the centre. To the left and right of the door, rough dragon heads had been carved from stone and were sitting on platforms. A brambles and ivy snaked across the walls, but Jinja noticed what suspiciously looked like a small tunnel behind a thicker set of brambles and intertwined wood.

Ignitus walked up to the door and paused, waiting, then sighed and turned back.

"Cynder's soldiers must have knocked the other two statues out of place... heathens." he sighed, his great body rumbling. They looked at him curiously.

"What other two statues?" Spyro questioned, looking up at the elder.

"On the other side of this door are two statues just like these." he explained, looking at the door, and then turning back to Spyro. "When all four statues are positioned correctly..." here, the dragon paused. "The door opens."

He said this very impressively, but Sparx didn't seem to think so. "Yeah, good. I was never good at geometry. So what do you want us to do?" the dragonfly said impatiently. Ignitus glared at the bug and turned to the other three.

"Spyro, Chase, Jinja, I need you to get in there and move the statues in place." the red dragon said seriously.

"Us? How?" Chase asked, looking around. There seemed to be absolutely no way to get in unless they smashed down the door, and the door seemed pretty strong...

"There's a small tunnel that animals use to access the caves. Find it and use it." he said. Chase and Spyro looked around, but Jinja's eyes immediately snapped to the thick cover of wood and brambles.

She barely heard Sparx when he said "Yeah, animals, okay. You know what? You do that, and I'll wait here!"

"Guys, I think I found it..." she said slowly, and suddenly whipped her tail around and shattered it. Chase looked at her, surprised, and Spyro grinned.

"Nice one." he commented, ducking into the cave and finding it much larger on the inside. It looked as if it hadn't been tended to in years, and Jinja wrinkled her snout in disgust as she watched bugs crawl all over the walls.

"Why can't we ever land up on a sunny paradise or something?" she complained, and Chase chuckled as Sparx said, "Yeah, no worries, just sittin' back, no freaky dragons trying to kill you..."

"No complaining gnats," Spyro added under his breath, and Sparx huffed.

"No respect," he muttered, following the odd group of dragons through the cave. Jinja was reminded, with a pang, of Bren. Where was the geek now, along with her little monkfish and Dax, who she also missed, though she'd never admit it. There was a sudden rustle to her left, and she was tackled by what seemed like a giant spider covered in green bulbs. She froze.

"Jinja, watch out!" Chase cried, and Spyro immediately opened his mouth. A jet of orange flame burst from his moth, and Jinja rolled aside. Chase leapt on the spider and clawed it, and it burst into a cluster of red and green gems. The dragons stood there panting. Sparx turned to Jinja incredulously.

"Dude, I've been known to freeze up in front of something ugly, but you just took it to a whole new level," he said, whistling. Jinja ducked her head shame-shamefacedly.

"Leave her alone, Sparx," Chase snapped. "She's terrified of spiders." Jinja glared at him and he shrugged.

"Well, she better get over it soon," Sparx said, looking up ahead. "I think there's more."

The dragons continued on warily, and they did encounter more Bulb Spiders. Jinja groaned and stood back as Chase and Spyro fended them off, knocking them back with their horns, Spyro burning them to crisps, and Sparx cheering them on. She watched Chase, noticing how quickly he had adapted to his dragon body. It had only been about a day since they landed here, and even she hadn't adapted that quickly. She still tried to use her paws as hands when she was distracted, and often tried to stand up on two legs, all to no avail...

She shook her head, promising herself to keep a close eye on her friend. The group continued on, finally reaching an end to the cave, jumping up stepped platforms and gliding over a gap on the right and into another cave. It was difficult for Chase and Jinja to glide – it was their first time, and they found it was hard to get enough air. Chase managed to angle his feathers in an attempt to get more air, then flapped wildly as he was about to fall, when -

"Chase...you're flying!" Spyro cried, and Jinja stared in open mouthed shock. Chase slowly cracked open an eye and saw that he wasn't falling directly to the ground – he was actually hovering right in front of Spyro and Sparx. He hopped onto the ledge and stumbled, wide eyed.

"Whoa..." he muttered. Jinja huffed. This was not her day. There was no way she was going to be outdone by this lot. She growled and pushed off from the ground, beating her wings before spreading them out full length. She just managed to reach the ledge, but her wings got slightly grazed in the process. They had scraped against the cave walls, her wings being larger than the span of the cave entrance. She shook herself and glared at the other three, who hid their grins.

"C'mon, we need to get moving." she grumbled, and forced her way to the front. Sparx shook his head.

"Chicks," he sighed. "I'll never understand them." the other two nodded their agreement and ran after Jinja.

The cave ended as quickly as it started, and they followed a path to an almost dead end. There was a hole in the ground, covered in twisted wood and brambles. They all looked at each other in confusion, and Sparx turned to Spyro.

"Eh, when in doubt, break it right? Go nuts." he grinned, and Spyro nodded. He was about to jump over it when Jinja beat him to it, jumping over it, curling in on herself and striking it with her tail. It immediately shattered and she fell in, falling on her feet and glaring around. Spyro and Chase went to follow when Sparx stopped them.

"Now...we watch." he grinned evilly, and Spyro gave him a suspicious look. They looked down, and suddenly a Bulb Spider appeared out of nowhere, trying to attack Jinja. Chase's eyes widened, and he was about to jump down to help when Jinja cried out in fury and jumped on it, clawing it furiously, before going to attack the other who appeared behind her. Spyro's and Chase's jaws dropped. Chase knew Jinja could get mad, but this was beyond a rage.

"Whoo!" Sparx cried. "Alright, gimme some hustle!"

Jinja kept swiping left and right with her horns, and she felt a fiery power sweep through her. She opened her mouth, and suddenly everything was on fire. White-hot flames crackled and spiders were bursting into gems everywhere. It felt amazing to destroy the stupid bugs, and was almost disappointed when there was no more. She heard someone speaking from above.

"And this, gentlemen, is why you should never get a woman mad." she looked up and flushed as she saw them all staring.

"Yeah yeah," she muttered, and turned to face the red temple door, noticing the two dragon statues pushed out of place. "Now get your tails down here and help!"

She began to shove at one, and Spyro jumped down and pushed at the other. Soon they were all in place, and the door slid open with a creak, revealing Ignitus on the other side.

"Any trouble?" he asked, looking at the smouldering vines behind them.

"A little insect trouble," Spyro said vaguely. "Nothing we couldn't handle."

"Little insects, my tail section." Sparx muttered. They walked back into the room, the flames dying down now. Ignitus walked up to the next red door, looking very identical to the first.

"The past is prelude, tomorrow a dim promise," he murmured to the door, and Spyro, Chase and Sparx stared at him. "Allow us entrance, do not reject us."

"Uh," Sparx said as nothing happened. "Are you making that up?"

"It should open for us," Ignitus said quietly, turning back to them. "It seems there is a...disturbance." he shook his head miserably. "It seems my fears have been realized; they've desecrated the interior as well. Guess we'll have to open it the old fashioned way," he motioned towards a small tunnel on a ledge, about at the height of the red dragons head. "Make your way through the connecting rooms, restoring every statue you can find."

"Hey, you know what? Let's don't and say we didn't." Sparx said casually. "Why don't you do it?"

"You want my help?" Ignitus said, and there was a note of irritation in his voice. "Very well," he walked over to the tunnel, his back to them. "Hop up"

"Alright!" Chase grinned. "The old guy's coming to life!" Jinja whacked him and hopped up on Ignitus's back, apologizing when she stepped on his head. The others followed her lead.

"Careful, you three. Cynder's forces are surely on their way." Ignitus warned, and from somewhere in the cave. They heard Sparx mutter, "Oh goody!"

Spyro rolled his eyes at Sparx and trotted after the others. They hadn't gone too far when Spyro almost bumped into Chase. He turned to look at what they were looking at when his eye caught onto a glowing blue gem, and he was overcome by the desire to smash it. He and Chase suddenly whacked to together, and a burst of blue gems flew out and entered their bodies. Both dragons shivered and their eyes widened as they felt power and knowledge course throughout them, and felt a little bit stronger.

"Hey Spyro, what was that about?" Sparx asked, staring at Spyro as if he had gone mad, while Jinja just shook her head.

"I don't really know." Spyro said breathlessly. "I just felt like I had to hit it... and when I did, the power of a thousand suns surged through my body." Chase nodded eagerly, but Sparx just stared blankly at them.

"Right, okay." the dragonfly said, giving Spyro a pat on the head. "Well you know what? You should really sleep better," he held his hands up ."Y'know, I'm gonna stop buggin you. You really need to get eight hours."

"Forget I said anything," Spyro chuckled. "Let's go."

They continued to walk through to an opening, where there were apes waiting for them. Jinja torched them with her newfound flame ability, while Chase and Spyro knocked them around like they had with the frogweed, before they had met Ignitus. It had only been a few hours ago, but to them it seemed like ages. Chase couldn't help but wonder what brought them here, as they pushed one of the dragon statues back into place and continuing down the cave. He didn't know what purpose they served, or if they were a part of a bigger game, or maybe if it was destiny.

Destiny. Beyal had often preached it, but it seemed like the destiny he told them of and what was happening now were two different things, a disturbance in the natural course. Something wasn't right, and something in his gut told him that none of this would end well. It was a shadow in the back of his mind that twisted his gut and made every turn ominous. Every word, everything that happened to them seemed to connect in some way, and it felt like he was missing something, something very important...

Chase shook his head as they reached an opening, the only exit being a dark cave on the left. Bulb spiders began to attack them, but defeating them was very easy now. Jinja seemed to have a severe hatred for them, and Spyro and Chase found that all they had to do was push the second statue into place as Jinja burned the spiders, and jump across two small platforms above a pit of brambles. Spyro blew flames onto the torch connected to a little red door at the end, and then they were all tumbling out of the cave, collapsing in a heap in front of Ignitus.

"That was quite an entrance, young dragons," he said, amused as they picked themselves back up with a few groans. "There might be hope for us yet."

The dragons followed Ignitus through the newly opened door, and Spyro noticed the cluster of light blue gems, glowing enticingly.

"What are these things?" he asked curiously, cocking his head the side curiously. The dragons crowded around it, and Sparx sighed.

"These are Spirit Gems... a gift from the Ancestors." Ignitus said, and a note of reverence entered his voice, the same note that entered Beal's voice when he spoke of destiny, or when Bren talked about new technology.

"What kind of gift?" Jinja whispered, the soft glow from the gem turning her already blue eyes bluer.

"A gift that empowers you with the spirit of the past, strengthening you with the wisdom of the ages." Ignitus sounded very impressive indeed, and the young dragons looked at the gems in awe. Ignitus stepped back and allowed them to smash it, smiling at their wide eyed looks.

"I feel more powerful already." Spyro said wondrously.

~

"Do you hear that?" Ignitus stopped in front of the next red door, completely still. Spyro wasn't sure what Ignitus could hear, but stopped anyway. There seemed to be a break in the ceiling, and warm sunlight filtered through, warming them.

"What is it?" Spyro said after a moment. Chase pulled up beside him and looked around curiously while Jinja crouched down suspiciously.

"Exactly what I feared." Ignitus said, and a look of uncertainty on his face, he turned around. "Look, Spyro, perhaps we should turn back."

"What? After coming this far?" Chase cried, looking stricken. Spyro stared at Ignitus incredulously.

"If this door is closed, it means there are intruders' behind." he murmured, looking pained. "It's how the Temple protects itself."

"Ah, yeah. Doesn't work too well, does it?" Sparx commented, buzzing near Ignitus's face. The fire dragon huffed and walked past him.

"So what are you saying, Ignitus?" Spyro said, pausing next to Jinja, while Chase walked up beside him.

"What I'm saying is the only way the door will open..." Ignitus started, but Sparx buzzed in front of him again.

"Don't say it!" He yelled, but Spyro had already butted in.

"...is if the intruders are kicked out of there." he said determinedly. Sparx groaned, and Jinja smirked at him.

"Didn't I just say don't say it?" he mumbled, and the dragons began to look for a way into the Temple. As Chase and Jinja examined the door, Spyro listened out for what Ignitus heard before. At first, he only heard silence. Then, as he strained his hearing, he heard the sound of the apes' odd giggling noise.

"Behind that wall!" he cried, looking at the loose rubble and stone baring their entrance. Chase and Jinja trotted over and looked at the wall.

"How're we supposed to get through," Jinja asked dryly, looking to the purple dragon. However, behind them, Sparx answered.

"I think your ticket to death starts by knocking this baby down," he said wryly, pointing at a pillar. Spyro stared at Sparx.

"I knew I brought you along for a reason." he said. Jinja began to measure the distance between each column and the wall.

"I think it'll work," he said, then nodded at Spyro. Chase and Jinja backed away as Spyro jumped up and whacked the pillar with all the force he could muster. The pillar, already weakened, began to topple towards the second, shattering, and the second toppled onto the third, and the third completed the domino effect and smashed the wall. The ape behind it froze and began to scream, then ran away.

Chase grinned. "I've always wanted to see that happen!" he crowed, prancing into the fifth or sixth cave they had been in today. Jinja laughed.

"What, see the pillars collapsing or see an ape scream?" she joked, and Chase bumped her side with his, snickering. The cave didn't go on for long, and right at the end a bunch of small apes and a larger one tried to attack them. Tried being the keyword, as the apes obviously weren't a match for the three dragons. More apes smashed through the wall ahead.

"These guys are a sucker for punishment." Jinja said lightly, swatting one aside and attacking the other. With the apes defeated, they crept on slowly, walking up to where the second wave of apes had come through. Spyro snickered slightly as he saw three apes sleeping around a barrel of dynamite, the fuse not so far from them. He quietly glided down, Chase and Jinja just behind him, and he motioned for them to stand back as he lit the fuse. Planting himself against the wall, they watched as the fuse slowly diminished, nearing the barrel.

"Um, are you sure that was a good id -" Chase never finished his sentence, as the dynamite blew up, killing the two apes and damaging the much larger one at the end. The ape jumped around a bit before throwing a stick of dynamite at them. Chase stared at Jinja, wondering if she was seeing the same thing he was.

"Dynamite?" he whispered. "Did that even exist in these times?"

Jinja shrugged helplessly. "We're in a whole different dimension, Chase?" she whispered back, watching as Spyro knocked the dynamite back at the ape before attacking it. "For all we know, pigs can fly!"

"Hey you two!" Sparx called, and they turned to look at him as Spyro and Sparx beckoned for them to hurry up. "You lovebirds can catch up later!"

Chase flushed, eyes wide, and Jinja sputtered. "Lovebirds?" she mouthed furiously, then chased Sparx. "Get back here you little mosquito!"

Spyro laughed at Chase's expression. "Don't mind him, we'll be saying the same thing to him when he gets a dragonfly lady friend." the purple dragon winked at him and trotted after the other two, and Chase shook his head and followed. It was a short tunnel, and they found themselves back in front of Ignitus yet again. The door was open this time, and as they walked through, Spyro felt a strong sense of foreboding, and he, Chase and Jinja huddled together as they heard the apes cackling laughter fill the room. There was a tunnel on one side, and a large ape, one of the Commanders, smirked slyly at them. They only just noticed they were being surrounded until it was too late. The three young dragons looked around in shock. They had never seen so many apes in one place!

"Well, Ignitus, we nabbed your Guardian buddies but you managed to escape our clutches..." it bared its yellow teeth at them. "Until now..."

Ignitus stood in front of the young dragons, crouched low in a defensive stance. "Stand back, Spyro, and let me show what a dragon trained in the ancient ways can do." he called back to them. They all watched in awe as the apes began to jump on Ignitus, but he easily batted them off, and when they thought they had him, he would easily prove them wrong. The fire dragon was amazingly skilled with his element, too.

"Whoa! The big guy's got some moves!" Sparx crowed, but Jinja gasped as the apes overrun Ignitus. They watched in horror as he was covered by a pile of apes, but suddenly, the temperature in the room began to skyrocket, and suddenly waves of red energy and pure heat burst forth, causing the others to shield their eyes and singing Chase's wings. There was Ignitus again, in the midst of the powerful fire fury. The apes never stood a chance.

The fire died down, and Ignitus stood there, neck bent, panting. They immediately ran over.

"Are you okay, Ignitus?" Jinja cried, looking extremely worried.

"Yes," he groaned slightly as he eased his neck up. "As I get older it takes longer to recover..."

"You were incredible, Ignitus." Spyro said, awed/ Can you show me how to do that?" Ignitus smiled at the purple dragon's eagerness.

"Patience, young dragon. Soon enough you'll learn all I have to teach." he said reassuringly. "But right now you must fight!"

Spyro nodded firmly. Coming from the door in front of them were more apes, just as many as before, but this time he wouldn't stand back. Jinja stood firmly behind him, and Chase crouched into a defensive stance as they rushed forward together, tackling the wave of apes. Here a group had been b\torched, there a group burst into gems, and they just kept on coming. Spyro saw Chase knock a one into the air before slamming it down with his tail, Jinja blowing a group, and even Sparx just annoying the heck out of the apes helped.

As soon as it began, it ended, and they waited for Ignitus to walk through. They were in a plain circular room, and in the middle there was a round, green pool, that seemed to be neither made of water nor air, nor any recognizable substance. It looked and felt like water, but there was an airy texture that they just couldn't quite place. "Ah," Ignitus smiled, stretching his wings. "Home, sweet home." The others looked around the room, etching the markings on the walls into their memories. To Spyro, it felt like the whole place was alive and humming. Ignitus smiled at them, before coming to another doorway.

"If Cynder's forces were here, there will certainly be more of them in the Temple." he warned, but he didn't sound as worried as before. More relaxed, perhaps.

"Oh goody," Sparx groaned, and this time Chase agreed.

"They won't be there for long." Spyro said determinedly, walking forward towards the door, which opened for him.

"Great, now he's getting cocky..." Jinja sighed and gave Ignitus a rueful look. This room was like the one before, but much larger, and a large stone dragon statue dominated the room. There weren't as many apes in there, perhaps five or six, but they were painfully aware of the fact that Ignitus was watching them this time, evaluating them, and it made them want to impress him. Soon, the apes were gone, and Ignitus had walked through, towards the door at the opposite end. Spyro held his breath. This seemed like the last door, the last one before he could finally see where he came from...

The door opened, and a cool freeze filtered into the room, a fresh change from the compacted and musty rooms of the Temple. They slowly walked out, walking down a slight stone slope before standing on a circular balcony. The balcony had small sandstone walls, but that didn't stop them from seeing the land beyond.

They all gaped in horror and dismay. The wasteland in front of them was completely silent. There was no sound, no life...just a barren moor, dead and foreboding. Spyro shivered.

"Jinja, we're not in Kansas anymore." Chase said finally, teal eyes dull. Jinja just stared, horrified.

"What happened here?" Spyro gasped, and Chase couldn't help but feel that the purple dragon looked like Christmas had just been stolen.

"This is what Cynder has done." Ignitus said quietly, and Chase noted the undertone of regret that lay there. "Put all the islands under her iron rule."

"I wanted to see where I came from... " Spyro whispered, shaking his head. "But I didn't know it was going to be like this."

"Yeah, no offense, but this place is a bit of a dump." Sparx commented, looking uncharacteristically dull. The sight of the barren dump turning Sparx dull made the situation even worse.

"This was once our home, Spyro." he said, turning towards to young dragon. "Together we can make it our home once again... reclaim what's rightfully ours." This time there was no hiding the proud light in the elder dragon's eyes, as he relived the earlier days in his mind.

"What do you mean?" Spyro said quietly, looking up at Ignitus. Ignitus smiled down at him, and then looked at them all.

"I mean that my time for heroics is past... but with your help," and here, he not only motioned towards Spyro, but Chase and Jinja as well. "We might be able to beat Cynder."

"I...I can't, Ignitus." Spyro said miserably. "I just learned what I am."

"You can, Spyro, you can." Ignitus said. "You are a purple dragon... a very special creature. You've given me hope again." He smiled proudly, and looked out towards the desolate lands, the setting sun gleaming in his eyes. "Now...it's time to give hope to all of them."

"I'm not sure what help I can be, Ignitus, but I'll try... I'll try." Spyro nodded firmly, and Chase stood up proudly while Jinja's eyes gleamed fiercely.

"Good. That's all I can ask." Ignitus gave them all pleased looks. "Now come with me. I have something for you." He turned to walk back up to the Temple, leading them to the door. Jinja gave the sky outside a wistful look as the door shut behind her, and she turned back to find the stone dragon statue sinking into the ground, clouds of dust swirling around it.

"The style you used earlier is crude, archaic, and obvious, but you got the job done. Not bad, considering none of you have been taught anything about what it means to be a dragon." the elder said, giving them appraising glances.

"Thanks..." Chase exclaimed. "I think." he mumbled right afterwards.

"But if you're going to have a chance against Cynder and her army, you're going to need to learn a lot more."

"Oh good... school." Sparx grumbled, but flinched back when Ignitus glared at him.

"Unlike any school you've ever known, young friend." he said coldly, then turned to the others. "Now... it's time to unleash the true dragon within you. Each of the Guardians is master of an element." he stood up straighter. "I, as you may have surmised, am master of fire." Pay attention and you may be someday too." He smiled at Spyro and Jinja. "Let's begin."


End file.
